I am seeing some great activity around “The Stars Were Right,” and the feedback has been really exciting. I am glad everyone is enjoying it and having fun. That was my goal. As always tell your friends and please leave honest reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. They go a long way.
Few things I want to highlight:
“The Stars Were Right” is now available on GooglePlay for those of you who do your reading on Android and Google devices.
I’ll have some big announcements coming in the next few months. Including: the name reveal for “Deep” and the cover reveal of “Old Broken Road” (the sequel to “The Stars Were Right.”) Be the first to see these reveals by signing up for my monthly newsletter: The Telegraph. It takes seconds to sign up.
I am still working on iBooks and Nook support. I am hoping both are ready for release soon.
I am also hunting for a local publisher to do a small run of trade paperbacks. I am not ignoring those of you who want physical copies, it’s coming—not sure when—but it’s coming.
I’m beaming over here. Can you see me beaming? That bright light outside isn’t the sun, it’s me, beaming. Why? I’m starting to see early reviews come in for “The Stars Were Right” and they’re looking great. I am kind of overwhelmed. Right now “The Stars Were Right” is currently getting 5 Stars on Amazon, and has 4.86 Stars on Goodreads. Wow.
I wanted to share a few of the reviews here:
A gritty adventure through a city rich with life and death, in the style of a tale told over some cheap whiskey at a dusty dive bar on the outskirts of a bizarre Lovecraftian town. Excellent pacing, excellent lead character, and excellent world building.
and…
Move over, Mieville – there’s a new author on the scene equal (if not greater!) in his ability to create captivating urban landscapes, people them with a myriad of races and cultures, and show them to readers in a way that mimics the complexity of the real world. Simply put, I appreciate that Alexander treats readers like they’re too smart to be handed a simplistic and overt explanation of the mythological context of the story. Instead, you piece together a vision of what kind of world you’re visiting through colorful experiences.
After exploring it myself, I’ll tell you – this is a world to which I hope to return. Sometime when I have a few dedicated hours to spend, knowing that I’ll be unable to pull away. This is a story with tempo, one that pulls you along in its wake, raising your heart-rate and your need for more with each page. Read an excerpt to see what I mean.
also…
In his first book, K. M. Alexander masterfully introduces us to a new world and exciting lead characters through a story that weaves elements of sci-fi, old world paganism, and the wild west into a page turner that’s hard to put down. Looking forward to the next book in this series!
finally…
A fantastic story with a genuinely likeable protagonist and plenty of suspense. Fast paced and lushly detailed. A very enjoyable read. I look forward to further works from this artist.
Thanks again for those who have purchased “The Stars Were Right”, and thank you to everyone who has left these reviews. They go a long way towards helping out indie authors. So please keep reading, please keep leaving reviews, and please keep letting your friends know.
Oh and one last plug: if you haven’t picked up your copy of “The Stars Were Right” yet you can get it from Kindle, Kobo, or direct for me as a DRM-free epub.
It’s the last Friday before “The Stars Were Right” is released! I figured why not take the time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! I’m always looking for new links if you have any suggestions, please, let me know.
Writing:
“The Stars Were Right” on Goodreads
Yep, I’m going to recommend my own stuff. :) Early reviews are starting to come in and they’re looking swell! Make sure to add “The Stars Were Right” to your own “to-read” list.
An Invocation for Beginnings
I’m going to post this again. If you’re ever struggling with your own creative endeavors: watch this. Ze Frank offers some of the most honest advice you’ll get from anyone, ever. (Warning: It’s NSFW but damn is it ever encouraging.)
Art:
Posters That Motivated Jazz-Age Workers To Strive
My good friend Steve shared this Slate link with me. So often we see posters like this as propaganda for governments, rarely does that cross over into the corporate world. While the tone is similar the messages are quite different.
Random:
Home is Where You Park It
One of Kari-Lise and my not-so-secret fantasies is to buy a VW Westy and head into the wilds of Alaska for a few months or drive down the pan-American Highway. “Home is Where Your Park It” is the Kickstarter for photographer Foster Huntington who essentially lived my dream and took a bunch of photos along the way. He’s assembling a book. It looks rad. Check it out.
Kowloon Walled City
Kowloon served as a great source of inspiration for the megalopolis of Lovat when I was working on Stars. It’s gone now, but at its peak 33,000 people lived in its 6.5 acres. The images and pictures behind Kowloon are as fascinating as they are heartbreaking and really shows the adaptability of humanity.
4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again Portland creative house Sincerely Truman creates a fun little video directed at J.J. Abrams with their suggestions for making Stars Wars great again. The animations are a lot of fun, as for the rules, well…they are rules I can get behind.
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I saw this on The Passive Voice (mentioned in my last post) but it was originally announced on the Goodreads blog. Goodreads has passed 20 million members, doubling its membership in one year. Huge growth which is great for readers and for the authors. I bet we’ll see some really exciting things coming from them in the near future.
If you’re not on Goodreads and you’re a writer, get on Goodreads, it’s an amazing resource to communicate with readers and promote your book. If you’re a reader and you’re not on Goodreads, get on Goodreads, it’s an amazing resource to communicate with authors you love and other readers who love the same books as you. (You should also add me, and add The Stars Were Right to your to-read list, since it drops in less than a month. Announcement for that coming soon.)
Okay, I am done promoting Goodreads. (For what it’s worth: I’m not getting paid for this, I just really like the service. For now I’ll avoid talking at length about their UX issues.)
“Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”
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K. M. Alexander 
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